About three in ten people with a credit file in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pasquotank County, 30.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pasquotank County's score
In Pasquotank County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 82.7. People with a credit card behind: 9.3%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 72.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pasquotank County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Pasquotank County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (15.6%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (91.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.6% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 72.5 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.6% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 61.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.3% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.8% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability14.9% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,384 · 202456th percentile
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- 52.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.1% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people91.7 · 202531st percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Pasquotank County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Pasquotank County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pasquotank County
North Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pasquotank County had its largest rise, from 15.4% in 1989 to 18.6% in 1994.
In Pasquotank County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 30.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Pasquotank County, North Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pasquotank County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.3% in 2020 to 16.7% in 2021.
The share of households in Pasquotank County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 17.6%
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pasquotank County, North Carolina.
How Pasquotank County has changed
Pasquotank County's population rose by about half to 41,418, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 40,541. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pasquotank County, North Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Pasquotank County had its largest rise, from 12,982 in 1995 to 14,826 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Pasquotank County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,885
High on the chart: 16,569 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pasquotank County, North Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 15.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,915 | 2024 $64,384 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pasquotank County's history
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 40,661. The 2020 Census counted 40,568, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2014
A tornado in April 2014 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pasquotank County. FEMA
Pasquotank County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Pasquotank County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pasquotank County ranks 2nd of the four; Perquimans County is highest, at 33.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates County, NC | 70 | 14.3% | 29.9% |
| Pasquotank County, NC | 67 | 15.3% | 30.3% |
| Perquimans County, NC | 40 | 13.8% | 33.2% |
| Camden County, NC | 3 | 7.5% | 23.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Pasquotank County the poorest county in North Carolina?
No, Pasquotank County's poverty rate was 15.3% in 2024, 44th highest of 100 in North Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Robeson County, at 23.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Pasquotank County ranks 40th of 100 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pasquotank County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Aid of North Carolina
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Pasquotank County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Pasquotank County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.